The Group of Seven (G7) countries has agreed to shut all of their remaining coal-fired power plants before 2035.
Andrew Bowie, Britain’s minister for energy security and net zero, told Class CNBC the “historic agreement” sends a signal to the rest of the world that wealthy nations are acting on climate change. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
While the countries had already committed to decarbonising their power systems by 2035, the explicit agreement to no longer burn coal for electricity will require more decisive steps from the likes of Japan, which still gets around a third of its power from the dirtiest fossil fuel.
“This is big step for Japan, the only G7 country without a domestic coal phase-out commitment,” research group E3G said on X.
On the other hand, the UK and France are leading the way, with coal comprising less than 2% of each country’s electricity mix.
“Stamping an end date on the coal era is precisely the kind of leadership we need from the world’s wealthiest countries,” said Jennifer Layke, global director for energy at World Resources Institute. “This decision provides a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, showing the transition away from coal can happen much faster than many thought possible.”
Phasing out the dirtiest fuel will provide cleaner air and “massive health benefits”, though G7 countries must prioritise just transition measures to support the workers and communities who’ve relied on coal for decades, Layke said. They should also ramp up their climate finance commitments to help developing countries make the transition.
Meanwhile, the G7 also said it would support a rapid scaling up of the energy storage industry, which is key to eliminating gas from the global electricity mix.
“We welcome the global energy storage target supported by G7 countries, which represents a six fold increase by 2030,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance. “This sends a strong market signal for the direction of travel and is essential to the tripling of renewables.”
